The 15 Best Coffee Shops In Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham is a beautiful destination for exploring, adventuring, eating, and drinking your way through the area. You'll find outdoor activities to enjoy year-round, and since it's a college town, thanks to Western Washington University, there's nearly always something exciting to do. With students looking for places to do their work and residents hoping to relax, Bellingham also has an incredible number of coffee shops. Though the numbers have since changed, in 2005, Bellingham ranked fourth in the country for the most coffee shops per capita, according to The Bellingham Business Journal.

This explosion of coffee shops did not happen overnight. Rather, the increase started in the late '90s when Bellingham only had a couple of coffee and tea shops. Now, it's grown to dozens of locally established and nationwide chains. With so many choices, visitors and Bellinghamsters (as they are affectionately known) have abundant options.

With everything from a coffee shop full of cats purring around every corner, to shops dedicated to the musical arts, and even shops with locally roasted coffee — every coffee lover will find a place to fall in love with in Bellingham.

Avellino Coffeehouse is the perfect gathering place in Bellingham, Washington. It has incredible staff, delicious food offerings, and decadent drinks. This coffee shop is in downtown Bellingham and, over the years, has been an essential part of the coffee shop lover community. This could become your favorite place to gather and relax with amenities like newspapers, wifi, and comfortable, relaxing space.

If you're looking for gluten-free or vegan treats, Avellino may just be the perfect stop. Its bakery offers delicious options, including muffins, scones, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls. Avellino also creates a house-made caramel sauce that really pulls their coffee drinks to a whole new level. The Rolo coffee option will take special advantage of this sauce as a caramel mocha. If you're looking for something more savory, Avellino offers incredible cream cheese options with sun-dried tomato, smokey cheddar, or smoked salmon for sandwiches. Always looking for ways to cater to customers, Avellino even offers delicious, unique gluten-free options, too.

For the very definition of eclectic, look no further than Café Blue. This cozy café has everything you could want in your new favorite coffee spot: fun artwork on the walls, greenery on every window ledge, diverse seating options, bookshelves on the walls, and vinyl.

Having opened in the fall of 2019, Café Blue offers its patrons many unique options. It has great coffee, tea, and other drinks and even makes a unique, from-scratch blend of chai. Mixing warm spices with Assam black tea and brown sugar for sweetener, Café Blue's chai is the stuff of dreams. It also offers unique incentives like a special "Wednesday cup" that customers can purchase and get filled for free each Wednesday. These sweet mugs are handcrafted by one of the owners. And don't forget to check out the house jazz duo, Dry Martini. Between the music and freshly made croissants, no one would blame you if you never wanted to leave.

Caffe Adagio is where coffee, comfort, and music collide. With an industrial-style feel of an open ceiling revealing wooden planks and beams above, Caffe Adagio feels modern, relaxed, and unpretentious. You'll find friendly staff who offer something special for everyone. If you're looking to warm up, you'll even find a corner fireplace area with couches and child's toys. It's the perfect space to cozy up on those cool Washington days.

Caffe Adagio partners with Bellingham Music to offer classes to help budding musicians become accomplished artists. If you happen to love cappuccino, Caffe Adagio offers an especially fantastic cup. And if you'd prefer something with a little less caffeine, the Mayan Hot Chocolate is not only Instagram-ready, but it tastes dreamy as well. In fact, all of Caffe Adagio's coffee drinks come with beautiful designs on top. You'll certainly want to pair your coffee with some special soup and one of the delicious sandwiches for a fabulous lunch.

With its high ceilings and relaxed decor, Camber Coffee feels like stepping back in time for your cup of Joe. The globe lights that hang from the ceiling illuminate the bar and the baristas' handiwork as they put together your favorite beverages. For a truly unique experience, check out the Poursteady for a better pour-over coffee than you might be used to. The machine works up an automatic drip pour-over, only without the extra time that this brewing method traditionally requires. Sounds top-notch to us.

Camber offers a rather short and straightforward list of drinks, including the classic latte, mocha, chai, and hot chocolate options. Of course, it also offers unique espresso drinks like the cortado, pour-over, and even beer, wine, and cider options. Another highlight of Camber is the variety of roasts you can select from. Among the two brewing options (espresso or Poursteady), there are six different locales of beans, each offering a unique and tailored expression to your morning cup.

In addition to their drink options, Camber Coffee also has a delicious menu that even has a seasonally rotating aspect to it. One of its most popular items is the Dutch Baby. You can choose between a savory and a sweet option to follow what your taste buds are craving. The menu also has delicious salads and lighter options that would make the perfect brunch, breakfast, and lunch.

This coffee shop opened in 1971 as Tony's Coffee Roastery. In February 2022, new ownership took over the shop and gave it a shiny new name: Old Independent Coffeehouse. Even still, this beloved spot still has excellent drinks, so if you missed the rebranding, you won't miss out on your old favorites.

With a laid-back feel that makes everyone feel welcomed, you'll love that there's even a fireplace to enjoy a little extra boost of warmth. No matter your standard order, you'll find exactly what you need to get that coffee fix, be it regular, black drip, or chai. You may even choose to snag something a little different than your norm with a golden milk latte alongside a raspberry oat bar. Old Independent Coffeehouse, or Old Indy as it is nicknamed, offers delicious baked goods cooked fresh, including seasonal items like cookies flavored with the pumpkin spice we all love so much. Whatever you choose, you're sure to find a new favorite to snuggle up with in this quaint, calm, corner café. For a more robust café menu, check out the attached Harris Avenue Café.

When Lettered Streets Coffeehouse opened in 2007 in the Pickett Building, owners Anna Dean and Kjirstin Glessner began with a mission to create a comfortable place where all could work and even gather to enjoy delicious food and coffee. The exterior of the building is a white brick with red painted wood that feels freshened up but still classic. Over the years, Lettered Streets has become a coffeehouse that supports the community by offering the wares of local vendors and coffee roasters. With the warm environment and easily visible bar area, customers can sip their drinks and munch on pastries in comfort.

For an especially beautiful latte, you need to look no further than Lettered Streets Coffeehouse drinks that are finished with heartfelt, beautiful pours and decorative latte art. When feeling like a nosh, order a great lunch of some comforting potato leek soup paired with a grilled cheese sandwich. For that afternoon pick me up, try some Morning Glory chai or some cold brew. Be sure to check back often for their seasonal rotating menus and specialty pastries.

This large café is light, bright, and very modern. The space has an extensive café and pastry menu as well as a selection of beer, cider, and wine. Not to mention, with its modern decor and comfortable atmosphere, Makeworth Coffee Roasters would make a wonderful place to host a big event.

If you're looking for a light, bright, and salty breakfast, look no further than The Lox, a bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, and dill. Of course, Makeworth's avocado toast is always with a try with its toasted bread, sliced avocado, and pickled onions. Makeworth also offers several unique lattes, especially within its seasonally rotating menu. The autumn vanilla latte is sure to bring you the flavors of fall, and the bouquet lattes are an absolute treat and very unique. At the time of writing, the café is offering a special peach basil latte that blooms with floral and fragrant notes. During the cold months, the eggnog cinnamon latte will put a skip in your step and may even inspire a festive mood.

When Shirlee Bird Cafè opened in 2015, the owners brought their long-dreamed-of café to life in the historic Sycamore Square, and its building dates back to the 1890s. This sweet café is full of recycled wood and offers a comfortable environment with delicious, local choices. You'll find locally roasted espresso and a great menu within the generations-old building.

For breakfast, you'll find a great menu of burritos, sandwiches, and croissants. The burrito is a delicious take on this classic breakfast which includes eggs, Havarti cheese, crunchy potato sticks for a little texture, and smoked bacon. If you're looking for a more traditional sandwich, the Monte Cristo is a can't miss. Shirlee also offers several vegan and wheat-free choices to appeal to many different diets. You'll also find a pastry case packed with delicious, house-made options. You really can't go wrong with any of the selections, but the twists and danishes are exceptional and come in a variety of flavors.

There are several Woods Coffee locations throughout Bellingham. This coffee spot is committed to embracing the culture of adventure and strives to fuel that in customers' lives. More than that, Woods Coffee seeks to give back to local communities through donations to fundraising for local organizations as well as schools within the local community. Pastries are cooked fresh in Lynden, Washington, then delivered to Woods Coffee locations each day. Woods offers delicious pastries like white chocolate raspberry scones and pumpkin breakfast cookies that pair perfectly with your favorite coffee drink.

When it comes to beverages, Woods Coffee provides more than the standard line-up. A host of blended drinks and smoothies are available across the menu and cover chocolatey goodness (the Mudslide) and nutritious notes (blueberry spinach smoothie) alike.

The cafes offer an outdoorsy feel with wood and brick accents and diverse seating options, including leather chairs with a fireplace. If you happen to be looking for something a little more filling than pastry, the breakfast options are sure to please. The classic Ham and Swiss Breakfast Biscuit is perfectly melty, and the Breakfast Burrito is packed with savory goodness.

Locus is the place to go if you're looking for the coffee and beer combination of an all-day café. Located in the downtown Bellingham community, Locus has an industrial feel with the goal of making all customers feel loved and welcomed within the space. The walls are decorated with incredible artwork and unique design to create an exciting, engaging space to drink your daily brew.

Its coffee comes from the Lotus Coffee Company, with a triple bean blend from Guatemala, Indonesia, and Brazil. Together, these beans create an incredible balance. Locus' beer comes from local breweries and hits on a variety of different flavors, including unique sour beers or even sweet ones. Of course, where there's great coffee and beer, there needs to be delicious food, and Locas has that, too, with warming soups, crave-worthy breakfast wraps, and even taco varieties. Consider a bacon breakfast wrap stuffed full of savory deliciousness or even a tuna melt with crispy chips. The street-art interior design of Locus generates excitement and let's you know you're at one of the more hip shops of Bellingham.

The Granary building is home to Black Fern Coffee, and walking in, you'd think you had walked back into the 1990s. Sure, the interior design doesn't exactly recall Central Perk or anything, but the bright branding found across the cafés line of products is enough to inspire nostalgia. The views from Black Fern Coffee couldn't be more beautiful, with picturesque waterside sipping space and large windows. With great coffee, and fantastic wines (even non-alcoholic vino), you're going to love the different options available to you. So stop in for a bit of working time or to visit with friends.

With a menu that keeps growing, you can't go wrong with a charcuterie board. Black Fern Coffee also offers waffles as a sweet treat. If you can't get enough Black Fern tea in the café, it also offers you packaged leaves to bring home. And if you're looking for a café proposing milk-free options, Black Fern has you covered there, too, with hard-to-find dairy-free alternatives like macadamia milk to bring a smooth (dairy-free) feel to your drinks.

Narrative Coffee has a mission, and it goes beyond creating a cup of Joe to wake you up. Narrative understands that there's more to coffee than caffeine, and it is committed to helping you explore all the flavors coffee can offer. So when you walk into Narrative, you're finding a coffee stop of friendly, encouraging people who are excited to share their craft with you.

This place is built for you, with plenty of space to plug in and get some work done — right across from beautiful murals across the walls. The modern design is clean and bright but focuses on and features the star of the show: the coffee bar. In the Everett location, the place where the magic happens is set under high-arching exposed beams, which ascend loftily above brick walls and pour natural light into the space. Over in the heart of Bellingham, the cafe walls are draped with greenery and hip Edison lighting.

There are all-day menu options, breakfast choices, and plenty of drinks at Narrative. For something exceptional and different, check out the Salted Bourbon Butterscotch or even the 3rd Wave OJ, a drink with espresso, orange juice, cardamom syrup, and orange bitters. Pair it with avocado toast for an unbelievable breakfast. Be sure to check back often for a rotating menu for a fresh, seasonally formatted list of offerings.

If you're looking for a quaint space, you're going to love 11th Hour. Find this coffee shop near downtown Bellingham and stop in for one of their awesome in-house elixir coffee alternatives: Immuni Cacao, Pink Pearl, or Golden Milk. 11th Hour is light and bright with beautiful wooden accents. The overall feel of the space is eclectic and interesting.

Here, you'll find the typical coffee shop fair, including traditional caffeine drinks, but you'll also find alternative lattes, including tea lattes, matcha lattes, and the 11th Hour specialty elixir lattes. For a really delicious and interesting treat, give the pastries at 11th Hour a try. The Honey Lavender Pistachio Doughnut is sure to complement any floral drink, for example. If you're looking for a whole other kind of specialty beverage, check out the vanilla rose latte, Maple Cream Cold Brew, or a Dirty Chaga Chai. You can also add reishi, lion's mane, or Chaga mushroom supplemental for an extra nutritious kick. Just make sure you get to 11th Hour before the last moment so that you have time to enjoy this venerated and uplifting space.

Great coffee takes intention, and that's what makes COF& different. Opening in 2018, it did so intending to create the absolute best coffee around. Eventually, this determination turned into changing the very culture surrounding coffee in Columbia. The COF& shop in Bellingham is decked out with sunny yellow, diverse seating opportunities, wooden tables, and greenery hanging throughout the shop.

With the traditional coffee options available, COF& also offers some more deliciously interesting drinks, including affogato, espresso bonbon, espresso panna, and Japanese siphon. For a super sweet espresso drink, try an Espresso Gold with espresso, honey, and whipped cream. For a delicious pairing with your coffee, sample the hot pastry options. There's a long migratory history of empanadas, but we're glad that the dish can be found here. You have several different styles to choose from, including a tropical option with turkey, cheese, and pineapple. There's even a chorizo style, which is surprisingly perfect for vegans and vegetarians as it features vegan chorizo, potatoes, onions, and red pepper. COF& offers many other types of pastries that are sure to bring you something new to enjoy with your coffee.

Cats and coffee make an absolutely perfect pairing! Neko Cat Café has something the other coffee spots of Bellingham do not: cats. It's the type of café you may not have known existed, but that you'll fall in love with right away. Here, Neko brings together hard-to-adopt cats with people who love being with cats. This open space has plenty of room for human patrons and cats to interact, and it's full of comfy seats to settle into.

While coffee is not the primary focus here, Neko still offers excellent options. Neko also brings many delicious boozy drinks, including cocktails, beer, cider, and hard seltzer. This cute café also has small snacks you can enjoy while petting those sweet cats. In the cat room, you'll find anywhere between 25 and 30 cats from the Whatcom Humane Society ready to cuddle and mingle. If you're ready to bring home a cat in addition to your coffee and pastry, there's even an adoption process for you to follow.